dbcve.org
SafariWeb browser · Apple

CVE-2023-42950

HIGH · 8.8 CVSS v3.1 Published 2024-03-28
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 10.2 / 14.2 or later.
See remediation →
95/100
Remediation priority · Urgent
Remotely reachable No privileges

Official description Straight from the sourceThe vendor's or NVD's own wording, published unedited. Authoritative, but often terse — it says what broke, rarely what to do.

NVD · unedited
A use after free issue was addressed with improved memory management. This issue is fixed in Safari 17.2, iOS 17.2 and iPadOS 17.2, tvOS 17.2, watchOS 10.2, macOS Sonoma 14.2. Processing maliciously crafted web content may lead to arbitrary code execution.

Technical summary Written by usOur analysis, written from the advisory, the CVSS vector and the affected-version data. It adds context the advisory leaves out, and never invents facts that are not in the source.

dbcve analysis · high confidence

A use-after-free vulnerability in WebKit (the rendering engine used by Safari and Apple's mobile operating systems) allows arbitrary code execution when processing maliciously crafted web content. The vulnerability stems from improper memory management where freed memory is accessed after deallocation.

MitigationApply the vendor-supplied security updates: Safari 17.2, iOS 17.2 and iPadOS 17.2, tvOS 17.2, watchOS 10.2, or macOS Sonoma 14.2. Prioritize patching browser-facing systems and mobile devices that process untrusted web content.

Verify against the referenced sources before acting — the references below are authoritative for this CVE, this summary is not.

Affected products & versions What the vendor confirmedThe version ranges the vendor confirmed as vulnerable. If your version sits inside a range here, treat yourself as exposed until you have upgraded.

NVD · CPE data
SafariWeb browser
Affected:< 17.2
IpadosOperating system
Affected:< 17.2
Iphone OsOperating system
Affected:< 17.2
macOSOperating system
Affected:>= 14.0, < 14.2
TvosOperating system
Affected:< 17.2
WatchosOperating system
Affected:< 10.2

CVSS breakdown How the score is builtThe industry scoring standard. It rates how the flaw is reached, what it takes to exploit, and what an attacker gains — the score is derived from those, not the other way round.

From the vector
Attack vector
Network
Complexity
Low
Privileges
None
User interaction
Required
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
High
Availability
High

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

Am I affected? How to checkSteps we derive from the advisory and the affected-version data, so you can decide whether this CVE reaches your setup. They are a guide, not a scan — your own configuration is the authority.

dbcve checks

Work through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.

  1. Identify your Apple product and version
    On macOS, go to Apple menu > About This Mac to see the version. On iOS/iPadOS, go to Settings > General > About to see the version. On tvOS/watchOS, go to Settings > General > About. On Safari, go to Safari > About Safari.
    Affected if The product is Safari, iOS, iPadOS, macOS, tvOS, or watchOS but the version cannot be determined or is unknown
  2. Check Safari version against affected range
    Open Safari and go to Safari > About Safari. Compare the displayed version number to the affected range of versions before 17.2.
    Affected if Safari version is earlier than 17.2
  3. Check iOS or iPadOS version against affected range
    On the device, go to Settings > General > About and note the version number. Compare to affected range of versions before 17.2.
    Affected if iOS or iPadOS version is earlier than 17.2
  4. Check macOS version against affected range
    Go to Apple menu > About This Mac and note the macOS version number. Compare to the affected range of versions >= 14.0 and < 14.2 (Sonoma).
    Affected if macOS version is 14.0, 14.1, or 14.1.x (Sonoma before 14.2)
  5. Check tvOS or watchOS version against affected range
    On tvOS, go to Settings > General > About > Version. On watchOS, go to Settings > General > About > Version. Compare to affected ranges: tvOS < 17.2, watchOS < 10.2.
    Affected if tvOS version is earlier than 17.2 or watchOS version is earlier than 10.2
  6. Determine WebKit exposure to untrusted content
    Assess whether the device or browser processes web content from untrusted sources, as the vulnerability is triggered by visiting maliciously crafted web pages.
    Affected if The system runs an affected version AND regularly processes untrusted web content in Safari or any app that uses WebKit

You are affected if your Apple product runs an affected version (Safari/iOS/iPadOS/tvOS/watchOS before 17.2, macOS 14.0-14.1.x, or watchOS before 10.2) AND the device processes untrusted web content via Safari or WebKit-based applications.

Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.

Check your environment

Paste your version and any relevant configuration and it will be compared against the affected criteria above. Do not include secrets or credentials.

AI-assisted, checked against the advisory. Informational, not a guarantee.

Remediation Closing itWhat it takes to close this. Where a vendor fix exists we point at it; where none exists we say so plainly, and can build one. Effort estimates are scoped from the advisory, not from your codebase.

dbcve · scoped
Upgrade available Upgrade to 10.2 / 14.2 / 17.2 or later
Fixed in 10.214.217.2
Interim mitigation

Apply the vendor-supplied security updates: Safari 17.2, iOS 17.2 and iPadOS 17.2, tvOS 17.2, watchOS 10.2, or macOS Sonoma 14.2. Prioritize patching browser-facing systems and mobile devices that process untrusted web content.

Recommended fix High confidence

Safari 17.2, iOS 17.2, iPadOS 17.2, tvOS 17.2, watchOS 10.2, macOS Sonoma 14.2

  1. For iOS devices: Go to Settings > General > Software Update and update to iOS 17.2
  2. For iPadOS devices: Go to Settings > General > Software Update and update to iPadOS 17.2
  3. For macOS Sonoma (14.x): Go to System Settings > General > Software Update and update to macOS Sonoma 14.2
  4. For Safari on older macOS: Update macOS to receive Safari 17.2
  5. For tvOS devices: Go to Settings > General > Software Update and update to tvOS 17.2
  6. For Apple Watch: Open the Watch app on iPhone, go to General > Software Update and update to watchOS 10.2
Caveat Standard OS update considerations - ensure backups exist before updating

Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.

Fix this in Safari Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation2.0 h
  • Implementation1.0 h
  • Testing2.0 h
  • Review / QA1.0 h
6.0 hours of engineering $1,060
Get the upgrade done

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $1,696.

Scan for this in your stack

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dbcve dependency scanner

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References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.

Primary sources

Practitioner notes

Contributed

Peer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2023-42950 in production — separate from our analysis above.

No notes yet

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What this is

A place for practitioners to share what actually worked: a mitigation you’ve tested, a configuration change, a version- or environment-specific caveat, or a link to a verified patch. The most useful notes rise to the top as peers upvote them, so the signal stays high.

What belongs here
  • Verified mitigations, workarounds, and config changes
  • Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
  • No weaponised exploit code, or anything meant to cause harm
  • No spam, self-promotion, credentials, or personal data